Space Battleship Yamato III
| studio = Academy Productions | licensor = | network = Yomiuri TV | network_other = | first = October 11, 1980 | last = April 4, 1981 | episodes = 25 | episode_list = }} Space Battleship Yamato III is the third TV season of the Space Battleship Yamato franchise, produced in Japan in 1980. The story begins at an undisclosed date, but was traditionally believed to have taken place in the year 2205 due to statements made in several of the publications devoted to Yamato III (such as its 'Roman Album'A Roman(ce) Album is a Japanese book containing artwork, cinematic digests, character and mechanical designs, and production notes, for a Japanese animation production. It is usually published with some degree of assistance from the production studio, and is designed to be read by fans.). However, the sequel film, Final Yamato, explicitly took place in late 2203, so after the film was released, the date of Yamato III was assumed to be early 2203. Plot The plot centers about the drama which ensues when a stray proton missile, from a battle between the Galman Empire and the Bolar Federation, crashes into the sun causing nuclear fusion to accelerate to unsafe levels. The Yamato and crew must then set out on a mission to look for a new world for the human race. They must do so in less than one year. Over the course of the story, the Yamato and crew must complete their mission of finding a new home for Earthlings amidst the strife caused by the Galman-Bolar conflict. The Galmans, we learn, are the ancestral race from which the Gamilons came. After the battle with the Dark Nebula Empire ended, a battle which destroyed the planet Gamilon, Desler and his remaining forces set out to search for this ancestral homeland. They found Galman, enslaved by the cruel grey-skinned aliens known as the Bolars. They promptly liberated Galman, and a galaxy-wide war ensued. The Yamato and crew eventually catch up with Desler, who is deeply remorseful that Earth has been dragged into this conflict. Desslok dispatches a team of Gamilon-Galman scientists to attempt to restore the Sun. This effort ultimately fails. During the course of the mission, the Yamato rescues Ruda, the exiled queen of the mysterious and hidden planet, Shalbart. It turns out that she is worshipped by peace-seeking factions within both the Galman and Bolar empires, and is wanted (preferably dead) by both governments which fear her influence. This puts a strain on the fragile alliance between Earth and the Galmans, and causes the Bolars to declare outright war against Earth. Earth is finally saved when the Yamato brings Ruda to Shalbart, and she decides to give the Earthlings a device (the Hydro-Cosmogen Gun) that can restore the Sun's natural fusion balance. But even this only succeeds after some ultimate sacrifices on the part of some of Yamato's crew. Notes *The plot is loosely based on the Cold War, with Galman-Gamilas now representing the United States and Bolar Federation representing the Soviet Union. *Desler's quest to find his ancestral people is similar to that of the Ahnenerbe. The word "Galman" is based on the word "German". * In the English Star Blazers dub, several references are made to Yamato and Dessler's fight with the Comet Empire. The flashback scenes, however refer to the events in Yamato: The New Voyage in which they were fighting the Dark Nebula Empire. At the time the third Star Blazers series was broadcast in the U.S., most viewers would not likely have been familiar with the rest of the Yamato series of films. To avoid confusion, the reference was changed to the Comet Empire to suggest that they were fighting remnants or splinter groups. Cast * Kei Tomiyama Susumu Kodai * Yoko Asagami (Yuki Mori) * Akira Kamiya (Shiro Kato) * Goro Naya * Eiji Kanie: Gustav * Takeshi Aono * Masato Ibu Desler, Heikuro Todo * Koji Yada (General Talon) * Kenichi Ogata (Analyzer) * Keiko Han (Ruda Sharubāto) * Kazuo Hayashi (Yasuo Nanbu) * Hirotaka Suzuoki (Kenjiro Ohta) * Hideyuki Tanaka (Ryusuke Domon) * Junpei Takiguchi * Kaneto Shiozawa * Kohei Miyauchi (Shalibart Elder) * Mugihito as (Dagon) * Shigeru Chiba * Sumi Shimamoto * Shozo Iizuka * Tessho Genda * Toru Furuya as Tasuke Tokugawa * Tomomichi Nishimura * Toshio Furukawa References External links * Starblazers Official website * * Madman Entertainment Space Battleship Yamato 3 Space Battleship Yamato 3